How to win a reality show: vote for yourself

It's the question that much of the country seems to be asking: just who is voting for Christopher Maloney in The X Factor? Despite performing dated power ballads week after week, the 34-year-old Liverpudlian has yet to find himself in the dreaded "bottom two". Now the axed contestant Kye Sones has accused Maloney of voting for himself. When asked why Maloney was still in the show, Sones, 30, replied: "God knows. He must have an expensive phone bill."

Maloney hit back, saying: "I have voted for myself a few times … I doubt my calls have made much of a difference. If I had more credit on my phone I'd vote more."

While his contribution is surely of little significance, the whole affair is a little embarrassing. Surely the only time it is acceptable to vote for yourself is in a leadership election; no one is going to shame Barack Obama or Mitt Romney for marking their own names on ballot papers, are they?